The Story Untold
by pegasushaze
Summary: From the beginning until the end. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily, Mary and Severus all thought they lead very separate lives until they met each other at Hogwarts. They were closer than they thought. Together they will grow up in a world of darkness...
1. Chapter One

**Important To Story:**

**The story starts straight after a memory from the Pensieve finishes. Lily and Severus are in a clearing, talking, when they are interupted by Petunia. Severus, having been insulted, makes a branch fall on Petunia's shoulder, she runs away crying. Lily runs after her.**

**This story is mainly about a girl called Mary and also Sirius. It also deals with Lily, James, Severus, Remus, Peter and all those other lovable characters. The story starts when the characters are between 9 - 10 years old, this is the summer holidays before the year when they will leave for Hogwarts. **

**P.S. Myrissa is a fairy (and that bit is important to the story)**

"No - No I didn't!"

The small red-haired girl ran off after her sister. "Petunia! Come back!"

At the same moment, a different young girl with golden brown hair ran through the forest, constantly looking over her shoulder. She only heard Lily's voice a fraction of a second too late.

"Ouch!"  
"Ow!"

Both girls collided and fell in a tumble onto the forest floor. Quickly regarding each other, recognition spread over their faces as the encounter drove all thoughts of Petunia and Severus out of Lily's mind.

"Mary?"  
"Lily?"

The girls both leapt up and started to hug each other. The second girl, who had been called Mary, was slightly smaller but no more fragile than Lily. Her eyes were an earthy shade that was undistinguishable as a single colour and could only really be called brown-green. She, like Lily, wore Muggle Jeans and a tee-shirt.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" Lily said.

"Yeah. My parents have sort of been keeping me busy."

"... It's the Summer Holidays."

Mary hesitated. "They give me extra work sometimes."

"Wow. That must suck."

"Yeah. It does sorta."

There was a rustling in the bushes and slowly Severus Snape emerged from behind a large fern with a foul expression across his face. It seemed he had heard the two girls talking.

Lily turned away from him, folding her arms whilst Mary stared at him with a curious expression on her face. Severus turned his gaze momentarily towards Mary before looking back at Lily, desperately.

"Lily I didn't mean to!"

She stayed silent.

"It was an accident. I swear!"

Lily looked absolutely furious. "So you **accidentally **dropped a branch on my sister's head?!"

It was Snape's turn to be silent.

"It could've hurt her! She could've died!"

"No! I wouldn't do that!" he shouted.

"Lily, it was probably an accident." Mary said. "Coincidental even. And if it wasn't, he wouldn't do it again."

Lily and Severus jumped. It seemed that amidst their argument they had forgotten that Mary was there.

"What would you know about it?" Severus sneered, recovering quickly. "You're just a Muggle. You don't know anything."

The air around them darkened and a sudden cold wind raced between the trees.

"You'd better watch your mouth." retorted Mary, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Both of you shut up!" Lily shouted. "Severus, just go away. I don't want to talk to you right now."

Severus was stunned. He looked as if Lily had hit him. Nevertheless he turned away and ran, his form quickly disappearing beneath the trees. Mary thought she'd heard a sob, but quickly decided it was her imagination.

"Lily are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just... Wait. You know what a Muggle is." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course I know. It's a non-magical human."

Lily looked excited and a large smile appeared on her face. "Are you a witch?"

"Maybe."

Lily squealed with excitement, passing over the notion that perhaps, as she only said maybe, Mary was indeed not a witch. "You can come to Hogwarts with us!" Mary looked at her questioningly. "Severus and me." Lily added. "It'll be fabulous! We can be in Slytherin and have a Common Room under a lake! And learn magic and we'll all be together!"

Mary looked bemused. "Why Slytherin?"

"Severus says it's the best house."

"Oh."

"Mary? Are you not excited?" Lily asked, crestfallen.

"Of course I am. But ... what if I don't go to Hogwarts?"

"What do you mean 'If You Don't Go'?"

Mary looked at Lily's sad expression and quickly withdrew what she had said. "Lily don't worry! Of course I'll go! It was just hypothetical."

Lily seemed to cheer up at this. "So what can you do?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"With your magic! Look at this!" Lily focused on a stick that was lying on the floor by her feet. It slowly and shakily started to float upwards, and as it gained height, flew more steadily as Lily made it float around their heads. It spun and twirled in a strange kind of dance before eventually Lily let it fall back onto the floor. "So?"

"Watch and learn Lily. Watch and Learn!"

Mary stood back next to Lily and lifting her hands and closing her eyes, she lifted a pile of leaves off the forest floor.

"Oh that's nothing." scoffed Lily. Mary glanced at her and rolled her eyes, but said nothing. The piles of leaves swirled amongst themselves like a shoal of fish, twisting until they formed the shape of a large dragon.

The dragon of leaves roared and flew towards the two girls, gaining speed until at the last moment, only an inch from the two girls, the dragon hit an invisible barrier and smashed into pieces, showering the girls with fragments of leaf.

"... huh ..." was all Lily could manage.

* * *

9-year-old Sirius Black opened his eyes and tried not to panic. "Okay, I'll close my eyes, count to 5 and I'll be back in the garden." he thought. Yet when she opened his eyes a second time he was still in the forest.

"Dammit."

He decided to walk in a random direction, hoping to find some kind of signpost or perhaps another person. He would've liked to know how to get out of the forest as well. It wasn't that the forest was altogether unsettling, it was well lit and sort of friendly, but he was completely lost, and if there was one thing Sirius hated almost as much as his family, it was being lost.

He heard a twig snap behind him and turned around quickly.

"Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed slightly amongst the trees.

"Hello!" a voice called back from above him. He could see a small glowing figure resting on a branch above him. It jumped out of the tree, landing in a crouched position in front of him before straightening up. Sirius realised the figure was a girl.

"Great. My only chance of getting out of here is a girl. Simply great." he thought to himself.

She smiled as if she knew what he was thinking which unnerved Sirius slightly. He decided to look again.

She was about Sirius's age with golden hair and sky-blue, misty eyes. Her hair and dress swirled with the slight breeze, and when Sirius looked at her face, he realised that seeing her smile was calming.

He'd never admit it afterwards of course, not that he told anyone, but from the corner of his eyes he saw shimmering silver wings, not like a butterfly or a bird but rounded, almost like the petals of flowers.

"Are you lost?" she asked him. Her voice was melodic and reminded him of some kind of bird he thought he'd heard once when he was dreaming. Sirius didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

"Don't be scared. You're in _my _forest."

Now Sirius did not like that. "I'm not scared! I just don't know where I am."

She laughed which disturbed Sirius further. He didn't like people laughing at him.

"You're in _my_ forest." She repeated. "How did you get here?" It wasn't an accusation, he didn't think. It seemed like a simple question and apart from laughing at him, she seemed okay.

"I don't know. One minute I was at my Uncle's house and now I'm here. In _your _forest."

"Do you like it here?" she asked.

That question threw him completely off guard. It was at this point when Sirius thought that perhaps a brick or something had fallen on his head. He must be dreaming because it was simply too strange, even for the Wizarding World, to be real.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

She beamed at him. "Come with me, I want to show you something." The strange girl took Sirius's hand and the next thing he knew, he was on a large branch in a very tall tree, very high above the rest of the forest.

"... You wanted to show me a tree."

"No silly. Look!" She pointed behind him and Sirius turned very carefully on the spot. He looked out at the view and could see they were on the edge of the forest. "Do you know which house is yours?" she asked him. Sirius looked out over the tiny houses. He could see very small people in the distance, the size of ants and a railway that looked so small it could be a child's toy. He couldn't quite see the houses clearly and tried to move closer.

"No!" she shouted as he lost his balance off the tree branch. He felt himself falling ever so slightly before abruptly stopping. He looked beneath him curiously. The ground was still quite far away and for some reason he couldn't see the tree that was holding him up. Then he realised, "I'm floating!" he exclaimed. He moved slowly downwards towards the ground, and when he was about a metre away, he was dropped, falling unceremoniously on the ground. A face peered over at him.

"Are you okay?" the strange girl was standing over him. She turned him over and gave him a hand to get up again.

"Woops."

Her worried expression changed to laughing as she realised he was fine. "You are quite funny."

"Only quite?!" Sirius said indignantly.

"Yes. Did you see your house?"

"No I didn't. Thanks by the way."

"For what?" she asked him.

"Um... lemme think... saving me a few broken bones from falling out of a tree. Although I could've handled it myself of course." He added as an afterthought.

"Actually you would not have broken a few bones, you would've died." She said as a matter-of-fact. "How would you have handled it?"

"I'm a wizard. I can do anything."

"What's your name?" She asked him.

"Sirius. What's yours?"

She looked around to make sure that no one was there. "Myrissa." she whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" he whispered.

"Because we must." she whispered back. "Would you like to go home?" her voice raised to normal volume.

"How?" asked Sirius.

"I know a way." she replied. "Follow me."

The pair of them ran through the trees, smiling and laughing. The majestic trees starting to thin out and eventually they reached a clearing of lush green grass. Myrissa lifted her finger to her lips and gestured 'shush' as she led Sirius through the clearing to a pool of water. She knelt down to pick a small, golden flower from beside the pool and threw it into the centre. The flower melted into gold dust and sank into the pool.

"Look into the pool." she whispered.

Sirius looked at her, wondering how looking into a pool could possibly get him back to his Uncle's house. She poked him and he decided that he might as well try. Sirius stared into the pool of water and could slowly see an image of his Uncle's house forming on the rippling film surface of the pool.

Myrissa knelt beside him and looked at the image on the pool's surface. "Now I know where your house is." she smiled and took his hand.

The setting around them changed and Sirius could see before his eyes his Uncle's house. He stood in the garden where he had been before he disappeared. He looked beside him to see Myrissa looking up at the house.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she held her finger to her lips and waved, disappearing in an instant and leaving only one of the small golden flowers that she'd dropped into the pond.

Sirius picked it up and turned it over in his fingers, before deciding that he was probably completely insane.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

**Two Years Later - Early July 1971 (The Year That Lily and James Start Hogwarts)**

"Thousands of years of heritage stand here. No one can destroy our entire race!"

"This Voldemort person, he's gaining support. It's only a matter of time."

"Once they breach the walls, we'll have to retreat to the innermost parts of our home."

Random pieces of speech flashed through Myrissa's mind. They said it wasn't possible, they said it couldn't be done. It was only recently that anyone had started hearing of this Voldemort. People were starting to become afraid to say the name. He'd attacked the forests, he'd killed many innocent creatures and captured werewolves, vampires, unicorns, all the creatures that they were supposed to protect.

'They' being fairies. They were not the completing elements of a child's story, they weren't the creatures painted in countless wonders of art as small, fat, useless blobs the size of a butterfly.

They'd existed since the beginning of time, protecting the creatures that dwelled in the forests across Britain. Powerful as wizards, wise as Rowena Ravenclaw herself, but as time passed, they grew vain and arrogant believing that no one could be a threat. No one had ever attempted what You-Know-Who had started to do. Forests were burning and creatures dying, whilst they stood arguing over a threat that they thought was minimal.

There was no time for arguing now. You-Know-Who had an army, his full strength. He'd discovered their home, and marched the citadel deep in the forest which was known as the Home of their Kind. The citadel was burning.

"Myrissa. Myrissa! Listen to me. You can't stay here. Find Albus Dumbledore." Myrissa's mother screamed at her as smoke filled the room. A thick, smog settled over the forest. The smog drained their powers, no one could get away, no one could fight. The trees burned down and screamed as they died. Death-Eaters ran through corridors knocking down their Kind as they coughed and did everything they could to stop it, but no one could stop anything.

Flashes of green and red light surrounded Myrissa as she ran for an escape, the one way out of the Citadel. She could feel him, Voldemort, there at the edge of the clearing.

He did not fight, he let others do the dirty work.

He watched as the elegant building of twisted silver trees disappeared behind a flaming orange dragon and thick black smoke. He waited and watched as he could feel the moment coming, the moment when he would have complete control over the creatures of the forests: dragons, werewolves, vampires, giants.

There was no hope now, as Myrissa ran through the blood-stained halls. She couldn't look back. She knew she could almost smell him and she felt his eyes upon her back. She was almost there she hoped, just a little longer but she knew she wasn't nearly there.

She was thrown backwards as a wall beside her exploded. She stumbled up, touching her cheek and feeling the blood before she saw it. Suddenly Myrissa heard screaming behind her and she knew she had to keep running. She leapt over the debris and moved as quickly as she could.

Determination to survive kept her going and she felt the adrenaline pumping through her fingertips down to her toes. The taste of blood was in her mouth as the blood poured into her mouth. It was getting harder and harder to run but she didn't stop, she wouldn't stop.

Myrissa burst through the door. She knew there were Death Eaters following her and had to be quick. She looked at the fireplace in the corner and felt sick as she imagined her home in the centre of the fire, burning down. Quickly, she pulled a portrait of one of her ancestors (she lost count of all of them and their names) and threw in down. There was a small glowing orb in a niche behind the portrait. It was a Portkey.

She grabbed it and then turning, caught sight of a miniature portrait of her immediate family and reached out for it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the door burst open and a Death Eater raise their wand, and just as she took the picture disappeared, far from the Death Eaters and far from her family and home. She opened her eyes in an unfamiliar room, being glared upon by portraits and promptly collapsed, emptying the contents of her stomach on the floor before the darkness took her.

* * *

Dumbledore looked down upon Myrissa's fragile figure. The twinkle in his eyes had disappeared as he watched her curled up on the carpet in his office, sobbing for the loss of her kin.

A house-elf appeared by the desk, carrying a tray laden with all kinds of fruits and nuts, also with a small bar of chocolate and a fresh packet of Sherbert Lemons, because Dumbledore had already ran out. His taste for the sweets seemed to increase with his emotional stress. The house-elf left the tray on the desk and disappeared.

"Would you like something to eat?" he asked her kindly. She only shook her head in reply, but wiped tears from beneath her eyes and moved herself into a sitting position.

"What happens to me now?" she asked, her sentence broken up by small gasps as she tried to regain a regular breathing pattern.

He smiled at her sadly and said, "I'd like for you to be looked at by a Healer. Going to St. Mungos is not an option I'm afraid. It is currently too dangerous."

"I know that," she said, "and I'm not afraid."

He ignored her brave statement and continued. It was uncertain as to whether he was talking to himself or Myrissa. "I shall call Madame Pompfrey to the school. Whether she can come immediately or not is another matter entirely."

Dumbledore sighed once more. He realized he could not leave the girl alone, or leave her undistracted. He knew all too well the feeling of losing one's family, but to lose an entire species?

And yet it was simply one more of the many attrocities that Tom would have to answer for and he didn't appear to show remorse for any, or stop using Dark Magic anytime soon. This was just the beginning, a terrifying beginning.

He gave Myrissa a small silver instrument off his desk and asked her to find out what it did before he turned away to call Madame Pompfrey by Floo. She came almost at once to the school when Dumbledore contacted her. "Oh, the poor dear." she thought. Dumbledore didn't explain to her the full extent of Myrissa's traumatic experience, and withheld many of the more important details, deciding that she would realise when she arrived. He told her that a young girl, feeling from Death Eaters had turned up at Hogwarts and had to be looked after, and that it was highly probable her whole family had died.

Madame Pompfrey stepped out of the fireplace and looked down at the girl who sat silently on the carpet with the strange silver instrument.

"It is a duplicator," she whispered. "which makes a fake copy of whatever substance you place here." She gestured to particular points on the instrument and she explained monotonously what it did. If Dumbledore was suprised that she knew, he didn't show it.

"Correct! This is Madame Pompfrey. She's going to take you to the Hospital Wing to have a look at you."

Madame Pompfrey had alsready hurried towards Myrissa, shocked at the large blood-stain on her face. The cut had clotted, but Myrissa had not permitted Dumbledore to heal it just yet. "Will you come too?" Myrissa asked Dumbledore quietly. "My mother told me to find you. She would be disappointed if I left you now."

Dumbledore nodded and accompanied the pair to the Hospital Wing.

After a check-up, many gasps and suprised looks from Madame Pompfrey and suprisingly no resistance from Myrissa at all, Myrissa was given a flask of Dreamless Sleep Potion and was told to rest whilst an astonished Madame Pompfrey and dismayed Dumbledore discussed her future.


	3. Chapter Three

**This chapter is from the POV of three different people as they prepare to go to Hogwarts for the first time.**

**Chapter 3**

**Lily**

Professor Flitwick appeared on Mr and Mrs Evans doorstep at 10 'o' clock in the morning. "Can I help you"? Mrs Evans asked as she opened the door to receive the tiny man. Lily sat on the stairs watching as her mother ushered him into the living room. She didn't notice Petunia behind her, hanging over the banisters to watch the scene as well.

"Lily!" her mother's voice called, "Can you come down here please?"

Lily used the banister to pull herself up and walked slowly down the stairs and into the living room. She realised that this was the moment when her parents would find out that she was a witch, when she'd be told that she would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the next seven years of her life. Lily was apprehensive and only slightly excited. She knew in her heart that from today her sister would be less close to her than ever. Petunia had been avoiding her ever since Severus made that branch fall on her shoulder two years ago and it seemed she was afraid that Lily may do the same thing.

Lily could hear voices as she stood outside the room."Naturally I will escort you to Diagon Alley, if Lily decides that she would like to attend Hogwarts."

She took a deep breath before opening the door and entering the room.

"Lily!" Her father smiled at her. "This gentleman here has been telling us some good news!"

"Lily," Professor Flitwick said kindly, "as I've been telling your parents, I come from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you've been offered a place. You are a witch, Lily."

"And it's true!" Lily's mother said excitedly, "Look at the tea cups!"

Lily's mother had brewed three fresh cups of tea, and Professor Flitwick apparently bewitched them to have legs, and they were running around the room spilling tea everywhere, but no one really minded. Lily sat down next to her parents and smiled at Professor Flitwick. "Could you tell me more about Hogwarts please?" Lily knew almost everything about the school already, but she enjoyed hearing about it and she thought that it would be nice to hear it from a different perspective.

Professor Flitwick started to talk about the different houses as a tea cup jumped up on Lily's knee and started to do a jig. Lily's parents hung on to every word she said, and unbeknownst to the three of them, Petunia was also sitting right outside the door listening to every word that Professor Flitwick said.

"-and the Head of House is Professor Slughorn. On a different note, Lily requires certain school supplies. I have the list with me here. Would today be convenient to go?" He handed the list to Lily, who decided to read aloud the contents, amused by her parents gasps after particuarly interesting items, such as cauldrons and wands.

"Could we go today? Mum?" Lily asked her parents.

"Of course, I'm not doing anything today." She looked towards Mr. Evans.

"I don't have to go into work until Monday. I'll go and find Petunia, shall I?"

There was a certain shuffling noise from outside the room as Mr. Evans crossed over to the door and left to find the final member of the family. "Would you like to go Lily?" asked Mrs. Evans.

"I would Mum. Can I?" Of course Lily already knew what her parents would say, they seemed delighted at the prospect of having a witch in the family.

"Yes darling, I believe you can." Mrs. Evans turned to Professor Flitwick. "Is there anything else that Lily should know before we leave?" she asked, standing up.

"Nothing of great urgence!" Professor Flitwick said. "I can tell you everything on the way to London." he said to her.

"Well, in that case, go and get your coat Lily." Mrs. Evans said. Lily left the room grinning. She was running up the stairs when she heard shouting coming from the kitchen.

"I don't want to go on your stupid trip!"

"Petunia don't you think-"

"NO! I don't want to go! Why should I go with freaks?!"

"Petunia, don't say such an awful thing!"

"Why not? It's true isn't it? She's a freak! She's going to a school for freaks! I don't want to have anything to do with it!"

"Wouldn't you like a trip to London though?"

"No! I want to stay here in my **normal **house! I'm not going anywhere!" Petunia stormed out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs, pushing Lily to the side and slamming her bedroom door at the top of the stairs. Lily watched her go, feeling sad that her sister didn't understand that she wasn't a freak but she didn't go to see her. It would only make things worse.

About ten minutes later, the Evans family were ready to leave without Petunia who was refusing to come out of her room. Mr and Mrs Evans swiftly decided that it was because of teenage hormones and left her there thinking that she'd be happier when they returned.

"So. How do we get to Diagon Alley?"

--------------

**James**

"Jessie! Jessie! Come and watch me! Jessie!" James ran across his "Quidditch Field" towards a young woman who was sitting on a patio by a large house sipping on a chilled lemonade and enjoying the summer sun.

"Jamie I am watching you!"

"No you aren't! You can't see from there! And don't call me Jamie..."

"Are you too big to be called Jamie then?" she pulled out her wand and conjured up a small table and put her drink down on it before heaving herself up, "assisted" by James, who was still a bit too small at only eleven years old to pull her up himself.

"Jamie is a kidding name." he said, pulling her toward the field, frowning. "Not a Gryffindor's name!" He pulled himself up to his full height and attempted to look brave and courageous, whilst dragging his Aunt in one hand and carrying a broomstick in the other. They stopped at the edge of the field, where Jessie started to conjure up a second chair before James stopped her. "No, watch!"

She rolled her eyes and stood whilst James mounted his broom and zoomed off into the air above the field. He was gained speed, took one look back at Jessie's horrified face and performed a small loop-the-loop before heading back towards the field and jumping off his broom at the last second.

Jessie looked torn between absolute terror and laughing. She covered it up quickly and grinned at the younger boy. "Good, but not good enough I'm afraid. I was better in my Hogwarts days."

James looked rather put out. "Prove it!" he said as Jessie summoned James's broom back from where it was zooming off. "I dare you! Play Quidditch with me!"

Jessie laughed. "You can't play Quidditch with only two people, and I'm far too old!"

"No you aren't! You're just chicken!"

"Take that back, you little monster!" she said, ruffling his hair. James pushed her away laughing.

"No way! Prove me wrong!"

"Fine." Jessie summoned her own broom from her room in the house. "Just don't go crying to Mum when you lose!"

"Bring it on Oldie!"

Jessie gasped. "You did not just call me oldie!"

James just grinned and mounted his broom, daring Jessie to follow on. "God I really am too old for these games," thought Jessie as she raced after him with a Quaffle. "Bet you can't catch this Potter!" she shouted to him as she threw the ball in his ... general ... direction.

------------

**Sirius**

"Regulus. Stop your pathetic childish moaning and behave like a man worthy of your heritage!"

"Oh shut up." thought Sirius as he listened to his father ranting on yet again about the wonders of pure-blood and Black Ancestry. Sure, he wasn't quite as bad as his (he hated the word) mother, but he could still be annoying, especially when Regulus hadn't shut up about wanting to go to Hogwarts already and it not being fair that Sirius got all these new textbooks and cauldrons for school when he had nothing. As soon as his mother heard the argument, Regulus ended up with a large variety of presents to calm him down.

He was already the favourite.

The whole family had gone on an outing to Diagon Alley to buy Sirius's school supplies. Regulus had managed to keep both parents distracted for a while with his whining, but as they reached Flourish and Blotts, Sirius's father had diverted his attention towards Sirius. "Of course you'll be in Slytherin. If not then Ravenclaw is respectable I suppose. Remember not to talk to any Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs. Those worthless houses are full of mudbloods of course. You will probably be able to find the right group of people on the train. Try to find your cousins and stay with them to avoid blood traitors and such."

He continued talking but Sirius didn't notice. He noticed from the corner of his eye a book about jinxing and magical practical jokes. He'd never tried anything magical, but sometimes when a cousin whom he really detested came over, he slipped a little something into their drink just to make the visit more enjoyable. He edged over towards it to take a closer look, but his mother and Regulus returned at that moment, followed by Kreacher who had his hands full of books.

"Mother," Sirius spat, "there's only about six books on that list."

Mrs. Black gave Sirius a sweeping look and Sirius peered over towards the books to read the titles more closely. The first one was titled "Unlocking Dark Magic From Your Core". "You haven't found your books?" she asked him. "Those are a little something Regulus requires to keep him occupied this summer. I believe you are capable of finding your own school books?"

"Well why not make it a challenge and let me do it alone?" Sirius said before snatching his list and running off amongst the shelves to find his books. He found the school books quickly, and spent some precious time looking through some books detailing spells for pranking. His favourites were changing hair colour and shrinking people down to the size of a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Suddenly, a plan occured to him. He added a few books to his pile, looking round to check no one from his family was there and hurried to a small wizard at a second check-out nearer the back of the shop. He put his school books on the table and pulled out money to pay for them, and said, "I'd like these as presents for my brother. Could you send them to him by owl for me? On September 2nd?"

"That is an inclusive part of our service." the wizard told him. "Just fill in this form quickly and the books will be sent."

Sirius filled the form out as quickly as he could. All it asked for was the name of the person sending the books, he claimed he was Regulus Black, the date the books were sent, and various other little details that were not particuarly significant. He paid for the books himself. It wasn't anything he couldn't afford, he was constantly given money by his parents and taken to Dark Magic Shops in the hope that he'd spend it there on Dark Artefacts that he really wanted nothing to do with.

"One more thing." Sirius said, "If anything goes wrong, please can you tell Sirius, not me. I won't be able to get letters for a while you see."

The wizard nodded, and Sirius left to find his parents, arms full of the books he needed for school which he was sure his parents would check. He almost walked into a red-head and the smallest man he'd ever seen on his way out of the shop, but it didn't occur to him to mind.


	4. Chapter Four

**It's still June 1971**

**Chapter 4**

_James House_

A woman with long brown hair and chocolate eyes ran out of James' house, "Jessie?! Jessie! Floo for you!"

"Aw Mum! I was winning!" James shouted back as he landed on the grass with his broom.

"No you weren't!" Jessie called back to him and she ran into the house, leaving her broom abandoned on the grass behind her.

"It's Professor Dumbledore! He says it's important!" James's Mum shouted to her sister Jessie.

* * *

_The Hogwarts Hospital Wing_

"I don't doubt that she has suffered emotional trauma, but she must attend Hogwarts. It is the only option to keep her safe and let her obey her Mother's last wishes." Dumbledore told the two people who were sitting on beds in the Hospital Wing with him.

"You cannot be serious Dumbledore! Do you understand the threat to her safety by placing her in a building with a thousand other people?" exclaimed Jessica. Her chocolate brown eyes flashed with fury. "Perhaps you do not understand. I have worked with fairies, both free and imprisoned. There is nothing that they dread more!"

"Can she disguise her identity?" asked Madame Pompfrey.

"I have no doubt that she can. She will be in no more danger than Mr. Lupin who will start attending school at the same time." stated Dumbledore.

"Will her magical ability be different to that of the other students Jessica?"

Jessica sighed. "It's difficult to say. her abilities with protective charms and spells will surpass that of any other student I'm sure," she replied, "but she will be capable of performing wandless magic, and will infact find it easier than spell-casting with a wand. I assume you will make her use a wand?"

"We have little option." he answered. "I have placed Anti-Summoning Charms on the necklace that reveals her true identity. We may also have to cast a protective charm to prevent physical contact, if you believe the threat is so large."

"Or you could simply ask her if she wants one." Jessica retorted.

"She is eleven years old-"

"-and far more intelligent than any witch or wizard her age! As far as I know she was the last fairy to be born in a century. She deserves a little more respect than you appear to give her!" Jessica shouted at Dumbledore, leaping to her feet. She immediately realised that she was losing her temper and took a deep breath, sitting down again. "I'm sorry, it's just ... she's eleven years old and the last of her kind! All of them are gone."

"It's a tragedy." agreed Madame Pompfrey.

"Yes, but this tragedy cannot cloud our judgement. Jessica, what are the exact threats to her safety that she will have from attending Hogwarts?"

Jessica leaned back in her chair as she started to explain the complicated background which she had learned of this species. "Fairies have power, like all elder creatures. Like witches and wizards they have magic inside themselves which they use to the purpose of protecting the forest, including all creatures, which the fairy was given to protect. As they are a woodland species, they grew apart from wizards many thousands of years ago, and adapted to using protective magic without wands and drawing their magic straight from their cores, which is both powerful and dangerous. As you know, no creature can be invincible. When fairies and wizards grew apart many thousands of years ago, misunderstanding grew between the two races, and now, not many people believe that they exist. Another tale from Beedle the Bard one might say. They are real of course, and the so called tale has lead to another threat. You will remember that I said I have worked with fairies that are both free and imprisoned. For wizarding sport, some wizards collect the souls of fairies whom they come across, like the legend of Balthazar. They believe that the fairies will grant a wish when they have been captured and I'm afraid to say this is true. They are bound by blood to give their souls to those who overpower them and grant them a wish which uses and then destroys all the magic in their souls. They then live a life of slavery until they die, approximately three hundred years old."

The room was silent. "Does Myrissa know this?" Madame Pompfrey asked after a few moments.

"She will know it. They are taught from a young age. She may have a sister who was captured, or simply disappeared. When a fairy is captured, they never see their family again." she said.

"But," Jessica continued, "if, she remains free for the rest of her life, or falls in love and willingly gives that necklace," she gestured to pendant around the sleeping girl's neck, "then she will remain free until she dies."

"And the wish?" asked Madame Pompfrey.

"I don't know. I never knew any fairy who willingly gave it away."

"In human form she will be protected. Far better, I might say, than if she were anywhere else. No one will know, but us and her Head of House, and perhaps anyone whom she wishes to tell. However, school does not start for two months. I have been summoned to the Ministry of Magic. She must be kept somewhere away from London, the countryside perhaps, and I'm afraid I cannot go too."

"She can stay with me." Jessica said, her voice cracking. "Professor, I'm afraid there is one more problem." Jessica hesitated. "Due to Ministry Law, fairies, when amond wizarding communities, must reveal themselves in their true for in the event of a formal activity or event once they come of age."

"That's fine though, is it not? If Hogwarts hosts no formal events, no dances or balls, after she is 17..." Madame Pompfrey said hopefully.

"I am afraid, Poppy, that Fairies come of age, when they are 14 years old." Dumbledore said. It seemed to be the only fact about fairies that he knew, and he was right.

"No! There must be a way round it? Dumbledore, you will think of a way?" she asked.

"Of course Poppy. Jessica, Myrissa shall stay with you and your family over the summer. When she comes to Hogwarts, after she is sorted, we will notify her Head of House of the situation."

A sudden thought came to Jessica, "Professor, she cannot be in Slytherin. I remember all to well from my Hogwarts days, temptation is irresistable to him, even thought he is a Professor. It would be an unnecessary risk!"

"I don't believe she is a Slytherin." said Madame Pompfrey.

"The Sorting Hat is wise," added Dumbledore. "It will not place her where she doesn't belong or place her deliberately in danger."

"She does not belong in Slytherin. She lost her entire family, she must be so brave. She does not belong in Slytherin."

"No my dear, I believe not. Yet we shall see..."


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

_The Potter House_

It was evening the next day when Myrissa was ready to leave the Hospital Wing. Her future was explained to her, and it was, as they had expected, already thoroughly imprinted on her mind that she must evade capture at all costs.

"Looking back," she told Jessica sadly, "I don't know if the Death Eaters tried to capture anyone. I remember them just cutting,and killing blindly." A lone tear fell down her face. "I wonder if it was because they didn't know what we were, or if they were trying to capture, and my family ... they would have decided to explode themselves, rather than becoming slaves to Death Eaters."

Exploding, was a particuarly nasty aspect of magic. Witches, wizards and fairies alike could explode their magical core, destroying their surroundings but also themselves. It was a desperate final action under the shadow of Death. It pained Jessica to hear a child talk of anyone doing this to themselves but remember that maybe, just maybe she would deal with this better than another child.

Jessica pulled her cloak tighter around herself as she opened the door to her home, and noticed out of the corner of her eye, Myrissa do the same. It was an unnaturally cold night for summer.

Myrissa was in human form and she seemed slightly happier and more comfortable with it. The tones in her hair had been dulled down and her eyes changed from their natural startling blue to an earthy brown-green. She was slightly smaller than average, with a pale english complexion. Her wings were no longer visible. The necklace was tucked beneath the muggle T-Shirt she wore and the diguise as a whole was fabuloous, Jessie had to admit.

She looked like any other normal girl. Even her name was different. Myrissa was now Mary, and had been given Jessica's surname of Duskwood as she had no surname of her own.

Jessica stood by the door and let 'Mary' go ahead of her into the house. It was a large house and they walked into a circular entrance hall with a dome roof, complete with chandelier and a round table upon which rested a vase of roses.

The house was dark apart form a light that was on in the kitchen. Jessica took Mary's cloak and hung both cloaks by the door before taking her into the kitchen where James's mother, Elizabeth or Lizzie Potter, sat at the table with a mug of hot chocolate and a copy of the Daily Prophet. She looked up at Jessica and showed a tired smile before remarking on their late arrival and taking the pair upstairs to find a room for Mary.

"James and William are asleep." she said. "William's been having a hard time at work, what with everything that's been going on." She showed Mary into her hoom and they gave her some space to adjust and look around her room.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us." Jessica said before they retreated to the kitchen,

"You're lucky you warned me an extra person was coming." Elizabeth said. "Or you would've had a lot of explaining to do."

"I think I do anyway, don't I?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "She is a quiet girl, I'll give you that. Such a contrast to James." she sighed. "I always wanted a girl." she said before glaring at her lower stomach.

"It's not your fault Lizzie." Jessica said, taking Lizzie's hands. "Blame the stupid idiot who did it, not yourself."

"I try not to blame myself Jessie. And at least I have James. I'm blessed really. Wait ... you got me off topic!"

"Ah, but that was my intention all along." Jessica grinned at her sister and Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"So what happened to her?"

"I can't tell you everything. I'm sorry. The less people who know the better. It's really rather complicated you see, but I can tell you that she lost her entire family."

"Death Eaters?" Lizzie asked. Jessie nodded her confirmation. "But she's only a little girl! No older than James I'd expect!"

"You're right. They'll be starting Hogwarts together."

"I can't imagine. What would happen to James if anything happened to us?" Lizzie's brown eyes filled with worry.

"I'd take care of him, you know that. And there's Dumbledore, or Augusta Longbottom, you two have been friends since Hogwarts, and Bathilda back in Godric's Hollow. He'd be fine Lizzie, there are so many people who would look after him."

"I know but, I look at the Daily Prophet and it gets worse everyday. I feel it's only the beginning now. It'll be James and his friends who'll have to live it."

"I hope you're wrong Lizzie, for his sake, but James is strong. You remember the cutlery incident?"

The two sisters started to laugh and stayed up to a ridiculous hour of the night reminiscing of old times.

* * *

_The Evans House_

Lily sat in her bedroom, reading through her copy of 'A Standard Book of Spells Grade One'. She came across a Levitation Charm and suddenly remembered the leaves that she made float around the forest. She realised that she hadn't seen Mary since that summer two years ago.

"Maybe she'll be at Hogwarts at the same time as me," she thought.

The doorbell rang at that moment, and her mother called up the stairs, "Severus is here!"

Lily closed the book and flung it back onto her bed. She ran down the stairs where Severus was waiting by the door, turning over a letter with the Hogwarts Crest on it in his hands. It was addressed to Petunia Evans.

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"I don't know. I didn't know that Muggles could receive mail from Hogwarts." he replied.

"Maybe she's going to Hogwarts too! Let's take a closer look upstairs." Severus and Lily went up to her room to look at the letter in private. Severus looked around Lily's room, amused at the textbooks and clothes strewn all over the floor. He caught sight of Lily's wand by her bed,

"What type did you get?" he asked her. She looked confused for a moment before she realised what he meant.

"Ten and a quarter inches. Willow and unicorn hair. I think he said that it was good for Charms or something. What about you?"

"Eleven and a quarter inches made of ebony. It's also got unicorn hair."

Lily giggled. "Wouldn't it be funny if it were from the same unicorn?"

Severus didn't answer and just smiled back, opening the letter. They sat down on Lily's bed and read through the letter in silence. "She ... she wanted to go to Hogwarts?" Lily whispered.

"Wait look!" Severus exclaimed. Inside the envelope was another letter, that seemed to be the letter Petunia had sent to Dumbloedore. "I think she wanted to. Look, she's begging him."

Lily turned away from the letter that Severus tried to show her. "I don't want to read this anymore. Let's put it back." Lily was shaking as immense guilt washed over her. Couldn't her sister come too? She could learn magic somehow.

"Lily," Severus said softly, guessing why she was being so quiet, "she would be disappointed. She wouldn't be able to do even the simplest spells. She'd be unhappy if she went."

"She'll be unhappy either way." Lily muttered.

"But she won't want you to be unhappy too. She is your sister after all."

"I guess."

"Come on, let's try some spells while we still can."

"Are you sure we can? I thought there were restrictions on underage magic or something."

"They let you off until you start school remember? We have the rest of the holiday."

"Oh good." Lily said as Severus picked up a copy of A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch and started to try and turn a bit of paper into a piece of parchment.

"You'll be my partner in classes at Hogwarts won't you?" Lily asked.

"Definitely."


	6. Chapter Six

**Read the companion story, the curious cutlery incident. :)**

**Chapter Six**

_Dumbledore's Office_

Dumbledore watched Tom's retreating form wit both curiosity and regret. The encounter had confused him, after all, why would a Dark Wizard go into a school and request a position teaching how to fight the Dark Arts? Did Tom suspect that Dumbledore knew that Tom had caused the near-extinction of an entire race? Did Tom know that Dumbledore was keeping watch on his every movement and slowly losing hope in his redemption as he learned of each horrible thing that he had done as Lord Voldemort?

Dumbledore doubted very much that Tom believed he would even consider giving him the hob, as he sat and pondered upon the matter of his real reason for the visit. What was it in Hogwarts that he wanted so badly?

And more importantly, who could he coerce into teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts?

* * *

_The Potter House_

Jessica woke Mary up early the next day. She needed to go to Diagon Alley and also into Muggle London. Mary had absolutely no possessions but the clothes she was wearing and the necklace. She needed clothes, hair ties, showerfel, nail varnish, a wand, spellbooks and all those other random things that an 11 year old witch should have.

It was generally decided that James would not be told that he was going to have to share his home with another girl until after they had gone and for that Jessie was thankful.

They took the tube around London and Mary openly gaped at the automised ticket machines etc.

Whenever anyone took an interest in Mary's excitement, she would simply mouth 'tourist' at them and hurry Mary on.

While they walked past a particuarly busy road, Mary had a nasty coughing fit. Her lungs were not used to the industrialised and polluted city.

Jessie took Mary into an average-sized shopping centre in order to buy clothes. The first store they went into was (thankfully) on sale. To Jessie's great amazement, Mary knew nothing of the wonders of clothes shopping, having apparently never done it, but before long they were walking to the Changing Rooms, arms full of clothing to try.

Mary wasn't the only one who left the store with new clothes.

They walked around the shopping centre going into practically every shop to give Jessie a chance to explain more about Muggle Life. Finally, when neither of them could carry anymore, they went to the top floor to buy some lunch.

There was an assortment of different cafes and fast food outlets as well as a large seating area. They both dropped into the cheap plastic chairs, almost exhausted and decided what to eat.

"So that store there, it sells burgers and chips. You know the kind of thing, fast food. It's cheap. That sells fruit drinks, not food so we'll skip past there. That one sells jacket potatoes, that one sells pizza ... oh! Chinese Food! There's also a sandwich shop there and that's a coffee bar which is no good for us at the moment. I hate coffee."

Mary sat, absorbing all the information before finally saying. "What's a burger? And what's coffee? And pizza? And why do potatoes need clothes? And what's chinese food and why is it different to normal food?"

Jessie looked at her and laughed. "I forgot! You've never had a burger or a cup of coffee. Have you had any meat before?"

"Sometimes, but not everyday."

"I'll get you some chips then. You can't be a proper pre-teen if you've never had chips. I won't get a burger though, we'll try a sandwich. I might as well get fruit drinks as well, I'm kind of thirsty."

Jessie left Mary sitting at the table examining the contents of her bags while she got lunch. Mary pulled her favourite item out of a green bag and held it up to the light. It was a blue top with a large strawberry on it. She also had some other peculiar items.

Jessie had bought her some 'sunglasses' and Mary marvelled at the way they seemed to magically make the world darker. Of course, Mary didn't really need these but when Jessie was in a shop that was on sale and she went into 'shopping mode' she was plain scary.

They'd also spent ages looking at all the different hair brushes and ties. "We carved our own wooden combs." Mary said, sniffing at some of the plastic brushes.

Mary realised quite early how much money Jessie was spending on her. She was horror-struck but Jessie waved it off saying her family was rich anyway and she was owed a lot of money for babysitting her niece. She added that as Mary was now part of her family, she represented it and if she didn't have any clothes then that wasn't a very good representation.

Mary still assured Jessie that she would pay her back but was secretly quite pleased that Jessie thought of her as family. She then felt very guilty that she'd forgotten he own family so quickly and sat quietly at the table.

Jessie returned with two sandwiches, two portions of chips, a banana and strawberry smoothie and an apple and raspberry smoothie. Mary stared in amazement and poked the oblong brown thing that was placed in front of her and was skeptical as to how it could be considered food. She was eventually coaxed into taking a bite and decided it was quite nice after all.

Mary finished her whole sandwich, half her portion of chips and decided to carry the rest of her fruit drink (apple and raspberry) with her. When none of the muggles were looking, Jessie shrinked the shopping bags and made them weightless so they were easier to carry round Diagon Alley.

* * *

_James's Room_

James sat in his room, turning his wand over in his hands. He checked the door to make sure no one was there and pointed it at a poster of a wizard band he liked. Nothing happened. He jabbed a couple of times and still nothing happened. James rolled onto his bed and stared at his painted ceiling. The Quaffle that was painted on was staying still unless it got hit by the bludgers which zoomed around top speed. The Snitch was hiding in the corner somewhere and there was a broom that flew around in circles.

"Why can't I do anything?" thought James.

He flicked his wand around half-heartedly thinking nothing would happen, when the tip of his wand exploded in a shower of smoke, sparks and stars. James coughed and the smoke cleared, leaving a big fluffy white bunny rabbit that started hopping around his room in it's wake.

"Awesome!" James could barely wait to start school now. When could he start conjuring other animals like cats and budgies? He picked up the rabbit and took it to show his mum. "Hey mum! Look what I did!"

"... How the hell did you do that?"

"I dunno I didn't see properly because of the smoke."

"Smoke?!?! Dear Merlin what did I give birth to?"

"I heard that."

Lizzie looked at the rabbit which was nibbling the corner of James' top. "I assume you want to keep it?"

"Yeah. What else can we do with **him**?"

"Make a rabbit stew."

"No way! You can't do that!" James shielded the rabbit away from her. Lizzie smirked at her son.

"I wouldn't, but you have to look after him like Nimbus, and don't forget about Nimbus because you have a new pet."

James considered his hyperactive owl, Nimbus. "Believe me, I couldn't forget Nimbus if I tried."

Lizzie stood up and ruffled his hair. He moaned at her and ruffled it back again. "Good for you," she said, "What's it's name?"

"**His **name is Quaffle."

Lizzie laughed. "Original James, really original. Tell you what, you go put Quaffle upstairs so we can have a little chat."

"What have I done this time?" James thought as he ran up the stairs.

"Don't worry! You aren't in trouble!" she shouted after him.

"...Yet."


	7. Chapter Seven

_Dream_

Remus ran. He knew he shouldn't have gone into the forest so late. Sure, it was only his imagination but he swore that behind the shadows of the unforgiving trees, a dark silhouette was watching him, preparing to pounce on it's prey.

"Ouch!" Remus tripped over a tree branch and fell, sprawled on the ground. He was shaking as he tried to get up and his bright green eyes flashed with fear. He heard a low rumbling behind him and turned. The creature leapt from the bushes at his back. The weight tossed Remus to the floor like a ragdoll. The creature jumped back snapping its jaws.

It moved into the bright white moonlight that illuminated the the trees and as a ghostly pale figure it attacked. In a flurry of teeth and claws the creature sunk into Remus as he screamed in pain. He didn't hear the people calling his name or the rustling in the bushes. All he could feel was poison creeping through his veins and the teeth in his chest.

There was a large bang and several flashes of light.

The creature bounded off Remus and ran into the night, leaving a small, broken figure underneat the translucent orb of the full moon.

Remus woke up sweating. He shivered and glanced over to his clock. It was 8am. "Not too early to get up," he thought to himself realising there were no chances of going back to sleep. He hated his nightmares recalling the night of the accident. What was worse was his memory of the next night when he first transformed. The images and haunting pain were fresh in his mind as if it had only been yesterday and not five years ago.

"Poor person." He whispered quietly wondering how the person who bit him managed to live with the guilt of not simply biting but almost killing a seven-year-old child. However the notion that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of people experiencing the same fate once a month was not at all calming. It was infact rather upsetting. He rolled out of bed and pulled on his socks, racking his mind for something, anything else for him to ponder which would distract him from his horrible nightmare.

Nothing came to mind. He realised sadly that all the other children his age would have received their letters. They would be going happily to school,. and Remus would not join them. "Wouldn't want a monster amongst children," he thought bitterly. He walked from his bedroom slowly and sadly down the stairs in the perfect likeness of a child with no future, which of course, he thought he was.

He sat in the kitchen munching on a croissant he'd found when his mother entered the room. She looked happier than she'd looked in a long, long time. "What's going on?" he thought.

"Remus," she said, "We are having a very important visitor over later. You will dress properly?"

He nodded, swallowing the last piece of his croissant. "Yeah sure. Who?"

"You'll find out later." she said as she ushered him up the stairs. The doorbell rang a few seconds after Remus put on his shoes. He snuck a look at the last sentence of the book he'd been sneakily escaping into and looked in the mirror. He altered his hair a little, hoping to look less tired and attempted a smile. "It'll have to do," he thought as he bounded down the stairs only to come face to face with Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

Mary sat in her room in silence. She'd abandoned the shopping bags by the chair and she buried her face in her hands.

_How could I forget them so easily?_

She started to cry.

_I loved my family. I loved my people. I've abandoned them. They'd be so ashamed. I forgot because of a bit of money and a few sales._

She lay in the fetal position and tears came thick and fast.

_I can't cope. I can't live this way._

She stroked the pendant at her neck and pulled it so she could feel the cold, metal at her neck.

_If only. If only I couldn't remember. I can't. I can't do this._

She pulled harder and harder, feeling the chain pulling at her skin.

_I need to forget._

She sat up, coughing and ran over to the bags, rumaging. There were herbs, right at the bottom. Sacred herbs like the ones she had at home. She'd said she liked the smell, but she could only wonder if Jessie knew how they reminded her of home. Did Jessie know of the magic she could perform with these?

She started to combine the herbs. Lavender, Bay Leaves, magical and muggle herbs mixed together with a small piece of an ancient plant called Bloodleaf. A red spiral of veins spanned the green leaves. "Leaves of the Devil" they were called. Dangerous and powerful, only a few people knew of their real power. Knowledge that had been passed down for centuries. Knowledge that would stay with Mary. The mix was finished.

Mary sat, chanting and cursing. The leaves glowed and hissed violently. They suddenly started to burn and the fire glowed and consumed with a green and red flame which spread from the small pile to Mary's hand and through her body within a second. She was surrounded completely.

She gasped in pain and collapsed onto the floor.

_Make me forget, make me forget._

She could no longer feel anything but the pain. She couldn't see or feel, and she didn't hear the knocking or see the opening door.

* * *

"Peter m'boy! What house do you think you'll be in?"

Peter wandered along the road with his chubby and somewhat overbearing father.

"What house were you and mum in?"

"I was in Hufflepuff. Your mother was a Slytherin. I was a good Hufflepuff, I was."

"I suppose I will be too then."

"Don't you 'suppose' anything m'boy. Pah! Your mother would be proud of you. Going to Hogwarts and all."

"I hope so father. I really do."

The pair of them walked into the graveyard, stopping at a stone which read, "Miranda Pettigrew. Beloved Wife and Mother."


End file.
